Northern Lights
by TheNewIdea
Summary: The sky above the College of Winterhold was like a watercolor painting. As the mages gather to look at the stars they contemplate life and slowly open up to each other. At the same time, in a cave below the College, a curious wolf looks up at the sky and begins to wonder. Companion piece to The Hunters, but not in any means a sequel or prequel.


The sky above the College of Winterhold was like a watercolor painting. Reds, blues, greens and yellows danced through the stars, which shimmered to the naked eye, making it all the more spectacular. The mages, those with light hearts and childhood dreams unfulfilled, were sitting on the balconies in the finest chairs available, drinking mead and swapping stories of past and current lives.

"Back when I was in Elsweyr" J'Zhargo began, "My father would always tell me what my destiny was. I was to be married to a chief's daughter, who was said to be the most beautiful Khajiit in all the lands, with a mane as full as she was of life. He would say how I was to bring many children through her, and how eventually our family would rise to power and greatness."

Tolfdir, who was next to J'Zhargo, took a drink of mead and nodded to tell the cat that he was listening.

"What happened?" Tolfdir asked curiously, for the Khajiit never seemed to talk about his life before the College, or anything for that matter, "Did you not want the marriage? Did you even see this girl before?"

J'Zhargo nodded, "I met her once and I can say this, the rumors about her were drastically understated."

J'Zhargo sighed and topped off his mead, only to reach down for the keg to fill it back up.

"She was beautiful in appearance that much was true." J'Zhargo continued, "But in addition she also had a soul. A soul that spoke languages only I understood. Like me, she had been told her entire life was it was she should be. That she was to bring children, as if that was a woman's sole purpose in the world. She wanted love, she wanted companionship. She sought understanding. I'd to think that I gave her some of that."

Tolfdir nodded once again, he cast his eyes down, remembering his own experience with love. It was easily the happiest time of his life, one that he wanted to remember.

"What happened to her?" Tolfdir continued concern was slowly growing in his voice.

J'Zhargo sighed and took a long drink of mead before answering, as if the answer was either long and painful or short and painful. What came was a little bit of both, lacking in detail and yet saying everything that needed to be said in the moment.

"She died" he answered, leaving the subject where it was.

Tolfdir said nothing and simply looked up towards the sky as the stars continued to dance with the lights overhead.

Below the College, was a small cave that was embedded into the cliff side, this cave was home to a pair of wolves, one as grey as the storm clouds and another as white as the snow on the ground. The white one, the male, whose name was Stenrig, was sitting patiently at the mouth of the cave, waiting for something to happen. He wasn't particularly interested in hunting, at least not tonight, for he had been running for a considerable length of time and needed the rest for the days ahead that would greet the coming winter.

As the wind picked up in speed, Stenrig sought what protection the cave would provide and continued to watch the outside world. It was then that the wolf looked up and saw the lights in the sky. It was captivating, for he had never seen such lights before. Stenrig's heart immediately jumped to its first instinct, causing the wolf to howl, accidentally waking the second wolf, who was contently sleeping inside the cave trying to get what rest it could.

The second wolf, the female, Kayla, made a short growl, causing Stenrig to be silent once more as if to apologize for the rude awakening. Try as she did, Kayla could not sleep and so decided to join Stenrig at the entrance. Upon Kayla's approach, Stenrig turned and moved slightly to his right, to allow room for her to see the lights. Looking up, Kayla saw nothing of particular interest to cause Stenrig to howl as he did. To her it just a bunch of lights that would come again in due time, they were not a spectacle or something to be admired; they were another temporary addition to the world and so deserved no attention.

Just as Kayla was about to go back to sleep, Stenrig nuzzled her, begging for her to stay and join him. Kayla did nothing, giving him the cold shoulder. Stenrig whined and slowly walked over, gently licking her face, for a moment becoming a dog and nuzzling her again, trying his best and failing to display affection. She was already asleep and it made little difference, but even so, Stenrig liked to pretend that he got a favorable response.

The wind had begun to die down, Stenrig, in response to this; decided that it would be in his best interests, especially to improve his standing with Kayla, to get something in way of food. Looking around, the wolf saw nothing in the snow, save for an old hunting trail long out of use. Instinct told him to turn right, towards the wilderness, if he was lucky he both survive and find a stray rabbit. Instead of this however, Stenrig made a left, following the hunting trail towards Winterhold, hoping to steal food or find someone stupid enough to give him some without putting an arrow through his head.

Just as Stenrig reached the back end of the Frozen Hearth Inn, a loud bang could be heard from the College balcony. This was immediately followed by a flash of various colored lights. Stenrig looked up towards the college and simply stared, not caring if he were caught or even killed, he simply took in the moment, his eyes lighting up like the flashes that appeared.

J'Zhargo and Tolfdir meanwhile, watched as Onmund set off the Chinese style rockets only for them to explode in the air, producing various colors like red, green and blue.

"What do you call them Onmund?" Tolfdir asked curiously as he watched.

"Fireworks sir" Onmund replied, "I found in an old chest on an island just north of here. Seems like Septimus has taken on a new hobby eh?"

Tolfdir laughed at the idea, for he knew Septimus to be spontaneous, often coming up with crazy and ridiculous ideas and experiments for the College to try. Only the Apprentices took them on, for Tolfdir and the other instructors knew better, but even so they found pleasure in seeing Septimus' results.

"We should send these to the other holds" Brelyna suggested, "It would be perfect for celebrations, not to mention if we get a little profit for it, might convince some of these Nords that we aren't conspiring to kill them."

Tolfdir didn't have to give it much thought to see the benefits of the idea, happily he agreed to Brelyna's wisdom.

"An excellent idea Brelyna" Tolfdir declared, "its people with bright minds like yours that need to move up the ranks."

Brelyna nodded, "Yes sir, but I couldn't have done it without Onmund and J'Zhargo, they've been helping me with my studies just as much as you have and deserve proper recognition."

"Of course my dear, of course" Tolfdir continued, "If this pulls through you shall all be on your way to professorships. That much I can assure you, besides we're getting in a flock of fresh students soon. It's time for you three to become the leaders you were meant to be."

J'Zhargo smiled and looked up at the sky, "You hear that?" he said, shouting to the world, "J'Zhargo is worth something after all! He has purpose!"

Tolfdir, Brelyna and Onmund laughed then they too began shouting to the world, letting out all of their insecurities and allowing Kynareth, the goddess of wind and rain, to take them away where they could never bother anyone again.

Stenrig, who was on the walkway towards the College at this point, having spilled past the guards and also failing to find food, heard the noise that the mages were making. He let out a short howl in response, for he understood what they were doing, experience told him that.

_"To even comprehend such things"_ Stenrig thought to himself, _"I must be of a different breed, of a different species perhaps."_

Stenrig looked down regretfully, wishing that Kayla could be with him to experience the moment.

_"She will never understand Stenrig"_ the wolf continued in his head, _"She is not meant to understand. That's okay...I'll just have to do the understanding for both of us, if she'll even allow me near her after this that is."_

Stenrig continued up the path in relative silence, for the last thing he wanted to cause an alarm and send guards, or even worse, the mages, in his direction. When he reached the gate, finding it locked Stenrig scratched the metal with his paw in attempt to get attention, when this failed, Stenrig did the only thing he could do and began howling and barking as loudly as he could, it was a risk, but it was one he was willing to take if it meant getting a decent meal for Kayla.

Brelyna rested her head on J'Zhargo's shoulder in a comfortable, familiar way. J'Zhargo said nothing and simply decided to let it be. Onmund, after launching the last of the rockets and watching it explode, looked on at this scene and smiled as he took another drink of mead.

"I always knew there was something between you two" Onmund declared, "And now I know what it is."

J'Zhargo raised his eyebrows curiously, for he had no idea on what Onmund was talking about.

"What are you implying?" J'Zhargo asked suspiciously, "Because if it's what I think it is, you are sorely mistaken."

Brelyna immediately sat up and turned towards Onmund, coming to J'Zhargo's defense.

"How dare you?" she exclaimed, "To even think of such a thing, preposterous!"

"Is it?" Onmund defended, "Just admit it; you two obviously have feelings for each other. Besides it's not like no one saw it coming or anything."

J'Zhargo huffed and shook his head, "You know nothing. It would be just like a Nord to jump to conclusions. My heart belongs to someone else entirely, and hers belong to me. When we are reuniting at the End of Days it will be as beautiful as the sky is tonight. A word of advice Onmund, do not tell a Khajiit what his own heart feels or what his head thinks, you're liable to get lose more than you ever could have gained."

Tolfdir couldn't help but laugh, for he often enjoyed Onmund and J'Zhargo arguments. As he laid back in his chair he heard a noise coming from the gate below, looking down he saw a lone wolf, lying on its stomach and seemingly spent, howl and scratch desperately at the gate as if it knew no other purpose.

"What a strange and curious sight!" Tolfdir declared, "I've never seen wolf behavior like that before."

Onmund, who was an expert in Skyrim's wildlife, followed Tolfdir's gaze to the gate. Upon seeing the wolf, Onmund immediately rushed down as fast as he could, his intention for the moment unclear. Tolfdir, J'Zhargo and Brelyna, in response and mostly out of curiosity, followed with all the swiftness they could muster.

Stenrig had been howling and barking for the past ten minutes and still he received no response. Lying down to rest Stenrig was on the verge of giving up and returning to his cave when he saw Onmund, still on the balcony, run down to meet him.

_"It's about time"_ Stenrig thought,_ "Maybe now I can get some food!"_

As he waited for Onmund, Stenrig turned to thoughts of Kayla. How beautiful he thought she was, how much he wanted to please her, to make her see that he was something worthwhile, instead of just another means to an end. Stenrig thought about these things because in truth, he was not an ordinary wolf, in many ways he was more human, at least in the mind, than anything else. Of course Stenrig had his moments where he reverted to his natural state, becoming nothing more than a beast, a lesser creature, but now, especially in the winter, those moments were few and far between.

Onmund approached the gate causing Stenrig to lift his head hopefully and give his best attempt at a smile.

"Go on" Onmund commanded, "Get out of here!"

Stenrig wiped the smile off of his face, a feeling of uneasiness swept over him as the possibility of returning empty handed represented itself and doubled in size.

"I said get out of here before I maim you" Onmund continued, "I'm giving you to the count of three. One-"

Stenrig looked Onmund over, taking in his scent at the same time. Initially he perceived him to be a friendly sort and as a result let out a light bark. Onmund ignored this and continued his count.

"What in blazes in going on here?" Tolfdir asked as he emerged with J'Zhargo and Brelyna coming up on his heels, "Onmund, explain yourself."

"It's a wolf sir" Onmund answered, "Dangerous creatures not to be trifled with."

J'Zhargo stared at Stenrig and then back at Onmund.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" J'Zhargo began, "It doesn't appear to be doing anything, expect making a lot of useless noise."

Onmund nodded, "Of course it's a good idea. Wolves only bring trouble when they get into cities and town. They carry people away, steal food. They need to be controlled J'Zhargo or else they'll keep on stealing and killing until there's nothing left."

J'Zhargo shook his head, although seeing Onmund's logic he couldn't be feel as if this wolf was different, for it only continued to bark and scratch.

"Khajiit has read about Skyrim and their wolves" J'Zhargo added, "This one is nothing like them. This one is different, special. It would be a crime against the gods to kill it."

Stenrig became more and more desperate, at the same time; hunger was slowly overtaking him, overriding his mind and causing him to revert to his natural animalistic tendencies.

"What do you think it wants?" Brelyna asked curiously.

Tolfdir shrugged and pulled out a piece of stale bread, "Maybe it's hungry" he suggested.

Tolfdir slowly approached the gate as Onmund relaxed. Extending his hand through the bars, Tolfdir took a risk and patiently waited for Stenrig to accept the gift.

Stenrig, at seeing this, shifted his gaze from Tolfdir to the bread, trying to see if it was some kind of trick. After a few seconds and determining that Tolfdir and the mages were not a threat, Stenrig casually dipped his nose to the ground, signaling Tolfdir to drop the bread. Tolfdir did so, amazed at the wolf's intelligence and watched as the bread, now covered in snow and bits of dirt, disappeared into Stenrig's stomach.

"Amazing" Onmund said, now beside himself, "What do you make it?"

Tolfdir shook his head in disbelief, for he did not have an answer, at least not a direct one, even so, he knew that such a question warranted a response and so gave the best explanation that he could come up.

"Surely this is the gods doing. To give intelligence, personality, to such creatures is one aspect of their work. One that is to be respected and thus never repeated, even by the likes of us, for doing so would brand us heretics among society."

J'Zhargo laughed in agreement, "We certainly don't want that" he added on, "It's bad enough that people don't trust us for things out of our control. No reason to give them something else to blame us for."

"In times of peace the gods would send messengers of all kinds, man and beast alike, to spread the news of good fortune and their will" Tolfdir explained, "I believe that this wolf is one of those messengers. By tradition, the receivers are to give them food and lodging."

Onmund huffed, "Sir we can't just bring a live wolf on College grounds. What if it starts eating people?"

Tolfdir sighed, for it seemed there was no pleasing Onmund, "At the very least we must give it food and our blessing" he pointed out, "It is only right."

Stenrig, at the prospect of food, gladly accepted what gifts the mages bestowed. In terms of food, he received a leg of lamb, a loaf of bread and a pheasant, which would be more than adequate for his needs. Among other gifts Stenrig also received a bone necklace from J'Zhargo, a single line of red paint on his forehead from Onmund and a blessing from Tolfdir. Stenrig, who saw little meaning in the paint, necklace and blessing, took the food and placed it in his mouth, resisting the temptation to eat it on the spot. The wolf gave a subtle, yet humble nod towards the mages as he turned towards the path down to Winterhold, the mages returning the gesture, keeping watch until Stenrig safely reached the path to his cave just as the sun rose up to greet the day, the northern lights disappearing with the coming of the morning.


End file.
